guenevere01

That seems a bit unfair, considering it's unfunded. Did you get the form to send back in to them to reject their offer? It has a line or two to put your reasons. I'd put some big ol' $$$$$ on there.

Thanks Spritely, that helps a lot - it seemed like UT had such a huge program I would get lost in the shuffle, but maybe not. Sorry to those who are waiting - I really am trying to make up my mind!!!

I got the same envelope! Arrrrgh! I just can't afford to go unfunded. I really thought I was a GREAT fit for NYU - so much for that. Not that I'm complaining, I'm pretty satisfied with my results overall, but starting out I thought this would be my best shot. C'est la vie, eh?

I'm pretty sure which program I want to attend, but I want to wait until I've visited to make a final decision. What if all the grad students there are really negative? What if the professors in my area are complete meanies? I'll probably end up letting one of the 3 programs on the table know I'm not attending this week.

Personally, I'm holding on to the hope that in 6 or 7 years when I'm finishing my PhD, the economy will be back on a nice upswing and America will be in the throes of a humanistic renaissance that includes a renewed enthusiasm for education. Hope springs eternal! (Or at least for the next few years!)

2 cats = double the joy! I've obviously been obsessing about my applications way too much, I just ventured over to the lounge for the first time in a while and found this awesome post! By the way, if you're only mildly allergic you can still swing it - my husband was allergic to his roommate's cat, but he's fine with our two most of the time, provided that we vacuum once a week and brush them. The best remedy, though, has been allergy wipes - they're at the pet store, and you just wipe your cat down with them every so often and it keeps the dander from getting so strong and killing everyone's allergies. Of course the kitties don't like it, but they dry off after a few minutes and are back to loving you again. Even my SO's sister, who is extremely allergic, can hang out at our house if the cats don't climb on her. Our dogs are actually worse for my SO's allergies, since they romp in the yard most of the day and then bring in all the dust and pollens with them in the evenings. Taking care of cats is easy most of the time. They do, in my experience, tend to get sick more often, what with randomly throwing up and coughing up hairballs and getting infections that make them want to pee on your clothes (talk about a way to stay motivated to keep your clothes picked up!). We only have an incident every few months or so, and this is not to say that dogs don't have incidents too. Overall, though, the training is a lot less work, even though it depends a lot on the cat whether they'll be furniture scratchers/curtain climbers. We give ours a "house" to climb on and scratch, which seems to pretty much take care of their needs in that area. Yay for fuzzy, cuddly, mischievous, beautiful, independent kitties!

Fully expecting to get my rejection letter today as well. Weird thing, though - I randomly checked their application website, and apparently I never requested the 3rd letter of rec from my prof. :oops: A stupid mistake, admittedly, but most other programs have emailed me when there was a snafu (mostly with my transcripts being in my maiden name). I have to imagine that either my application was SO bad they didn't even bother to ask for the 3rd letter, or this is a mistake that is a red flag to them, OR they are just a bunch of jerks. I intend to favor the "fate is telling me I shouldn't go there anyway" theory, though I wish I hadn't had to waste $70 to find that out.

One of the schools I've been admitted to is my undergrad institution. I've studied with most of the people in my particular field there, and the person whose research interests are closest to my own was my thesis advisor (go figure!), so I assume I'd be working with her again. I've been accepted to another place, which seems like a good fit in lots of ways, and is actually a bit higher-ranked, but the faculty there haven't done research quite as close to what I'm hoping to work on (though of course the specifics of my intended topic could change, of course!). I'll be visiting the latter institution soon, which will hopefully solidify my decision, but I guess what I'm hoping for input on is this: is it a career-killer to get one's undergrad and PhD from the same university? Especially when one would be working with basically the same people? Advice/opinions on this would be appreciated!

My husband and I are considering the whole SAHD thing, too! I'm so glad to hear that you guys have tried it and find that it works. Hope springs eternal!

Potential grad student seeks compatible university. Funding a plus. Interested in late medieval manuscript culture, and especially enjoys feminist and reader response theory. My main focus has heretofore been on Chaucer, but I'm open to other authors as well. I like long walks on the beach and mojitos, and listening to indie bands. See info below.

Right. One school that I thought for SURE I would be in to (i'll let you guess which one), because of how well several people in the department's interests meshed with mine, coupled with the fact that one of my recommenders is "good friends" with the head of the adcom, hasn't contacted me at all even though it seems that they've called all their admitted people already. Not that I'm unhappy with my results so far, I'm just kind of shocked at how it's turned out. Fickle fortune!

Yes, please post any info, frencrit11! I'll be going down to visit the English dept. in a few weeks, and they say they'll "try" to help out if they can with expenses. :/ rebeccafav, I'm a medievalist too, so that's exciting! Are you planning to do the medieval studies certificate?

Any advice for someone with 2 dogs thinking about moving to the city? They aren't "purse-dogs" either - 50 lbs. each, love to run and catch frisbees. I'm worried about finding an apartment where they'll be allowed, how to get them to the vet periodically, etc. I know there are people in NYC with big dogs, I just don't know how they manage! Leaving them behind is not an option, so any words of advice would be appreciated!

One more thing to consider - if your ultimate goal is to be a professor, where do you want to teach? If it's in the US, you might be better off with a degree from Duke (seriously), and if it's the UK, Cambridge. I'm not sure how the Biology community works, but in our field (English) I've been warned that a UK PhD does not put you in as good a position to get a professorship in the US as a US PhD would. (Sorry, that sentence was rather convoluted!) This is mainly because of the fact that UK schools (again, speaking for my own discipline here) don't usually give you much teaching experience and don't make you take lots of "core courses" that would put you in good stead to teach survey courses down the line (don't know if Biology has survey courses, but you get the point). I don't know if UK universities have the same nationalistic approach, but it's worth looking into.

That is excellent info, many thanks! My husband and I live in the 'burbs right now and drive upwards of 45 minutes to work, so a nice bike ride to campus sounds really great!